


Take Me There

by loveandallthat



Series: Healing a Break [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Break Up, First Kiss, Getting Together, Graduation, Healing, M/M, emotional healing that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:31:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10128788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandallthat/pseuds/loveandallthat
Summary: Bitty heals from the end of his relationship with Jack. Being surrounded by his friends helps a lot, and he learns to trust them a little more in the process. But this thing with Holster is different, somehow.Bitty POV of Love Over Need, which you do not need to read to understand this.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pkoceres](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkoceres/gifts).



> OK like sure this is a love story but I also wanted it to be a story of healing and everyone trying to do their best with what they’ve been given idk man this fic sprouted itself out of the jackparse fic i wrote but that pairing isn’t in here AT ALL and you don’t have to read it to understand.
> 
> NOT BETA READ. PLEASE POINT OUT ANY ERRORS YOU MAY ~~WILL~~ FIND.

It was one of the best things to ever happen to Bitty when Jack drove in from Providence to join Bitty in telling the team about their relationship. It was quite possibly the best evidence he could ever get for the fact that they were on the same page, and in it for the long haul. Jack seemed a little wide-eyed and shaky when he arrived, but his presence was still calming and reassuring for Bitty, proof to him that Jack really was every bit as good as Bitty had known, deep down.

Words seemed silly, insignificant, as they lie in bed together after the exhaustive process of telling some of their older friends. Jack had promised that it was OK if Bitty told his frogs, too, and that was an unexpected level of trust, though Bitty believed that they were deserving of it. His heart was just warmed by the idea that Jack trusted people just because Bitty did, that they were at this level.

He still forced the words out anyway. “I’m glad we told people.” Simple, to the point, and maybe a little silly. Jack still smiled, though, and agreed. And that was nice, too. Bitty fell asleep quickly, pressed up against Jack in the warm, dark space, where everything felt safe and amazing.

\---

Somehow, Bitty managed to be just as excited about his relationship with Jack even though he wasn’t going to see him until Thanksgiving--or Hausgiving, as it were. He picked a day before the actual Thanksgiving, so nobody would be at home. A lot of people were staying, actually, but Bitty had to go home, hadn’t come up with a good excuse to tell his parents--and it wasn’t like Jack was going to be free, anyway. It just kind of sucked to go home and not be able to tell his parents about a huge part of his life, to have to talk about Jack like he was just a good friend from the team, to avoid giving away that he knows too much. Well, Bitty was used to hiding things from his parents, but this was something that made him so incredibly happy, and would do the opposite for them.

So he put all of his thoughts into Hausgiving. And all of his energy, and most of Dex’s.

“Sorry, Dex,” he said, catching the other boy’s glance over to the room where the rest of the team was crowded around the TV. To be fair, Chowder and Nursey had offered to help, and Bitty loved them, but--well, Dex was the best choice.

“I don’t mind,” Dex insisted, convincingly. If Bitty weren’t as good at recognizing (and telling) lies as he was, he might not have noticed it. But as it stood, his eyes narrowed enough for Dex to notice. “I mean it; I didn’t want to watch the game anyway.”

That was more believable, which was interesting. If he didn’t want to watch the game, what was he staring at?

“Then can you pull that out of the oven?” Bitty asked, without turning around, right before the timer went off.

“How the hell did you--sure,” Dex replied.

“Bits!” suddenly echoed throughout the kitchen. Bitty didn’t even jump at things like that anymore.

“Hi, Holtzy,” Bitty answered happily. How could he be anything else? He was in his element, and he’d see Jack soon. And they wouldn’t be able to be a couple outwardly, since so many people there didn’t know, but how could that matter?

“Need any help reaching something from a tall shelf?” Holster chirped, tapping the top of the cabinet over Bitty’s head.

“Very funny,” Bitty replied, even though he was actually considering it. Did he need anything? No, and even if he did, Dex would have definitely gotten it for him. He couldn’t help but smile, though--it was just so easy to be around everyone.

Holser smirked in an easy way that made Bitty almost call him, “Adam,” except that he was distracted by the opening of the front door.

“Jack!” Chowder exclaimed first, and then Bitty was lost to his unfightable grin and increased heart rate, barely managing to wait until Jack ducked into the kitchen, stopping to hug Lardo. Then it was Bitty’s turn, and he flung his arms around Jack without a care. And by no means did Jack stop him

“Need any help?” Jack offered, pulling away eventually, slowly.

“We just finished,” Dex called from the oven.

Bitty nodded. “Everyone can come in soon!”

Jack visibly hesitated before starting to leave, but Bitty grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the table. “That’s my seat,” he said, pointing to the seat right next to where he’d led Jack. For his part, Jack got the idea right away and sat down. Bitty beamed at him and set about serving up the food.

The noise and the smells brought people in so much that it was entirely redundant to send in Dex or Holster to round up the remaining teammates, and the room was full as soon as Bitty was ready.

“We’re not going to go around and say what we’re thankful for, are we?” one of the new-new frogs asked, a little precociously.

“I’ve got something,” Nursey mumbled.

“Let’s just assume we’re all thankful for each other and eat the food while it’s hot,” Bitty cut everyone off, glancing at Holster and Ransom when he realized he sounded kind of bossy. Holster just looked over, though, and Ransom laughed.

“That sounds about right to me,” Jack whispered from next to him, and Bitty grinned widely; he could feel his face stretching ridiculously and schooled it to something more normal by taking a bite of his own food. He hadn’t gone full-out traditional Thanksgiving--most of them would have that soon enough anyway.

They made it about five minutes into eating before Dex said, “I’m grateful that Nursey coming into the kitchen only _almost_ made us burn the chicken.” Bitty laughed more easily because it hadn’t actually happened, remembering returning from his room to find Dex turning off his phone timer with one hand and going for the oven with the other, only to be physically blocked by Nursey, offering help.

Dex had pulled his hand back and then somehow forgotten to put it forward again to actually open the oven until Nursey had asked, “Dude, weren’t you about to do something?” and Dex had panicked. Bitty heard him confessing that he didn’t want to disappoint anyone and decided to wait a moment before making his presence known.

He left that part out of their story at the table now, though, and resolved to tell it to Jack later.

“So he really did help,” Jack joked, then looked surprised at himself. Bitty joined in the laughter, though it was more unexpected than actually funny.

Bitty bumped his leg against Jack’s under the table and smiled.

As if noticing this and trying to protect their secret, Ransom turned to Jack to ask about his most recent game. Bitty had watched it and listened as Jack, immediately post-game and full of adrenaline, relayed his thoughts excitedly in a way that the team may have never heard before. He still listened. It was terrifying to remember when Jack had been checked, but he listened to Jack brush it off while the rest of the team, especially the newest members, looked on in awe.

After that the conversations broke up into groups for a while. Bitty was pretty glad to have the chance to talk to Shitty, except that he seemed a bit off. He and Jack seemed perfectly in tune again, having recovered from Shitty’s unintentionally insensitive comments and Bitty and Jack’s announcement.

Bitty forgave him almost immediately, too, but the general idea still didn’t sit right with him. It would always be like that, wouldn’t it?

He looked over at Jack’s profile until Chowder pressed him for an opinion. It almost seemed like the frogs didn’t need him on this one--had his son Chowder realized something was up? Bitty really didn’t mean to worry him.

But it was also pretty likely that he was just being nice, and that Bitty was being paranoid and should stop that. He threw himself into the conversation maybe a little more enthusiastically than it warranted. That wasn’t too far from his norm, though. It was most likely fine.

Then, of course, Whiskey asked, “What was Jack like as a captain?”

“I didn’t start out great, but I like to think I got better,” Jack cut in, before they got a chance to speak.  He looked directly at Whiskey or maybe Tango and was rewarded with more general astonishment.

Bitty smiled and couldn’t resist the urge to look over.

He was broken out of his trance by a, “Nursey, seriously?” followed by, “Dex, bro, that was Chowder this time.” The rest of the table laughed, used to the antics, but Bitty just shook himself off and waited anxiously for the end of the meal so he could talk to Jack alone.

It turned out that nobody was ready to finish talking to Jack--Bitty understood that, though, since that was exactly his opinion. And Jack, even here where he was supposed to be able to relax, was gracious to the new members of the team and friendly to his friends, of course. But he cleaned up around everyone, equal parts grateful and nervous when his frogs stood up immediately to help him.

\---

Bitty looked around the room, where he was watching Holster and Ransom completely destroy Dex and Nursey at a team fighting video game. From what he understood, Dex was a decent player but Nursey wasn’t as much, and their teamwork would never be even close to their senior D-men. It occurred to him that it was a weird co-captain move to try to change this, but Bitty kind of doubted the likelihood of success.

He’d just finished baking a pie and it was cooling before he could serve it. Chowder and Lardo were bouncing a little, like they knew that Bitty would be easily swayed into giving them the first pieces, which was probably true, he thought, making eye contact and losing a fight with his own grin.

“This is not teambuilding,” Dex finally complained.

“I know,” Ransom admitted, “we were just in a Super Smash mood.”

Bitty pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. His frogs did get along really well, but Bitty was in agreement with Chowder when it came to wanting better communication or at least cooperation between Dex and Nursey.

It kind of gave him an idea, actually, but he was interrupted by the timer going off, indicating that his pie was sufficiently cool and they could start eating. That was enough to distract everyone else, too.

The idea manifested itself like this:

They were going to go out to dinner, and it would be a totally normal-ish event, and Chowder and Bitty were going to be there, so it would be mostly just Bitty taking some of his favorite underclassmen out.

Except that he didn’t have a lot of money, and he was supposed to be seeing Jack next weekend. Though--now that all of them knew, maybe it also made sense for Jack to hang out with them, too. The younger members of the team still seemed to be pretty awkward around him.

He texted Jack about it and got a response that was awkward even for Jack, but he ignored that. They would have plenty of time to be alone that night, and it wasn’t like they could go out together and be romantic for dinner without feeling too nervous, anyway. Jack had been noticed while they were out together, and it made Bitty nervous every time, even though they were acting really normal.

Jack drove to pick them up without stopping in the Haus first to clean up, which seemed strange for some reason. Then Bitty remembered that Jack’s car only fit five and not many people in this situation were small--he took one for the team and sat in the middle back, between Chowder and Nursey. The two of them had no qualms about leaning into Bitty’s space, which was fine, kind of sweet actually. Jack and Dex weren’t very talkative up front, but from his place in the middle, Bitty was able to at least prompt them.

The restaurant was nice enough that Bitty paused, wondering if Jack had planned on taking him there alone and actually making it romantic. It wasn’t a great thought, but it seemed just so incredibly unlikely, given their history and their situation. Jack pulled up to the valet stand and Bitty’s eyes widened; he and Jack went to restaurants like this on special occasions, but a bunch of college boys really had no business here. They looked nice enough, though. It was actually a little surprising. Chowder blindly followed Bitty as he left Jack there, and Dex and Nursey went where Chowder did, luckily. Bitty quietly offered Jack’s name at the host stand and they were on the way to the table when Jack came in the door.

It was obvious that the food was going to be expensive, and confirmed when Bitty opened his menu. Eye contact with Nursey confirmed that he had noticed it too--not that he was unaccustomed to it. Chowder seemed to be focused on the food and Bitty was glad; even though this was a frog bonding event, Chowder deserved something nice. Jack didn’t even open his menu and Bitty was filled with warmth at the trust, even over something minor.

“This is obviously on me. Don’t look at the prices,” Jack said. Bitty smiled and moved a little closer to him. He wasn’t used to it for himself yet, but there was something about Jack spoiling other people that really appealed to him.

Bitty ordered appetizers without thinking, pausing after speaking to ask, “Um, you guys didn’t have anything else in mind, did you?”

Chowder laughed. “You ordered what I wanted,” he promised, and Bitty believed him. He was on Jack’s other side, Dex and Nursey somehow across from them and close enough to bump into each other, but somehow not bickering yet.

“We’re good,” Dex spoke up, even though his menu was closed. Actually, Bitty realized, as soon as the waiter left, Nursey seemed to return to listing off the likely menu items that Dex might want. It made Bitty really curious; with money as a huge issue between them, it seemed like they would fight when it was shoved in their face so blatantly, but they were cooperating weirdly well. Maybe they didn’t even need this dinner.

It was also about Jack with the frogs, though, and that part was working nicely enough. The waiter came back for their entree orders before the appetizers arrived, and Bitty ordered for Jack, smiling at the surprised look on the faces of the other members of their party. Then, in a move that Bitty thought was much more shocking, Dex ordered for himself and then Nursey, like they had traded off responsibility.

Then Chowder seemed to lose a battle with his own self control, as he asked Jack if he’d met any Sharks players off the ice, excitedly hanging off of every word Jack said. Bitty saw his own fond look reflected in Dex’s and Nursey’s eyes, and he tried not to laugh at the whole situation.

Jack turned the conversation around on him, asked him about his own playing and more, how he felt on the ice; he was asking the right person, since Chowder had just about as much passion for it as he did. Bitty’s heart swelled. He couldn’t help resting his hand on Jack’s leg. They were under the table and invisible, but Dex’s eyes followed the trajectory of his arm and there wasn’t much of a doubt as to where his hand was. But he didn’t mind much, when Jack’s hand joined his and linked their fingers together.

Nursey said, “Chill,” and Dex rolled his eyes and glared at him.

They made little sense as a group, not even a team anymore and spread out across the years. It was definitely Bitty’s style; he loved the fact that they were still drawn together, even if it was just Bitty desiring this.

Though, looking at Chowder’s eyes and Jack’s unusual enthusiasm, Dex and Nursey not yelling at each other and cooperating unusually well, maybe they all wanted this.

The waiter gave the bill right to Jack at the end, like he was forewarned, and it was weird for Bitty to imagine Jack taking him aside and asking for this; maybe Jack really did look more different from them than Bitty could even imagine. The ride back was more energetic than the one there, too, even though it wasn’t like they’d been drinking.

And Chowder and Dex and Nursey quickly made themselves scarce, pushed a little by Dex like he knew that their status as a fivesome was due for a change. It was a little surprising, but he did always seem to be paying attention. Bitty appreciated it and tried to make eye contact to communicate his thanks, but their gazes don’t catch.

Bitty and Jack tried to be subtle about their desire to go straight to Bitty’s room, but the fact that Bitty could see it in Jack’s expression, in the tracking of his eyes down every inch of Bitty’s body made it impossible. So while he managed not to run, he did move rather quickly.

Everyone kindly held in their chirps until the next morning, anyway.

\---

It was a huge relief to come home for Christmas and escape some of the snow. Bitty loved some things about being home, hated the hiding and lying. He was so excited to not be the only baker in the room--though at this point, he wouldn’t say that Dex was _not_ a baker, but that was a whole other story. It was nice to talk about hockey and drinking less, and pies and decorations more, though the discourse on social issues was better back at Samwell, to be sure.

Family parties, neighbors to impress, and church bake sales, among other things, ensured that Bitty was baking much more than he ever did in the Haus, even with all of the other family members with similar talents. There was also something to be said for eating food that someone else had made, a certain feeling of being cared for that Bitty didn’t actively seek out, but it was still something special.

Plus, Bitty had gotten pretty used to the messes he was surrounded by, but the cleanliness was refreshing. It was better at Jack’s apartment with only one guy around and not there a significant percent of the time. Bitty was also pretty sure that Jack intentionally and specifically tidied up when Bitty was about to visit.

He was so busy all day that he didn’t really get a chance to text Jack anything significant until that night when he had retired to his room, finally. He had been dropping hints all day that he might have to leave early to go back, even though his parents definitely knew that he had tickets already booked. But then he’d still have to fly to Boston and then travel to Providence.

Jack texted him telling him that he didn’t have to, and it all rushed over Bitty at once. He imagined himself not going, imagined the holiday with his family, some couples but also some younger cousins without significant others. Imagined the moment the year changes, texting or calling or Skyping Jack, unable to reach out.

It was awful. He immediately responded that of course he’d do it.

And of course the flight was delayed a little, once they’d already gotten on the plane nonetheless. Bitty sat there and texted Jack, since they hadn’t taken off yet; Jack reassured him that it was fine and he had nothing else to do anyway.

Besides, before he knew it he was back in Jack’s car, food in the back--Jack saying he knew they’d have to reheat it by the time they got back, but it was from Bitty’s favorite Boston restaurant. And really, Bitty’s knowledge of the nice food in Boston had significantly improved recently. Imagine that.

He got a kiss, too, and the words, “I am so glad you’re here,” breathed right against his mouth before they were connected again.

Bitty’s heart was just so full--it was hard but they were making it work against the odds. The feeling didn’t leave the entire four days he got to spend with Jack, until the moment he was being dropped off at the Haus and Jack was insisting that he couldn’t come in for long, had to get back soon. It made sense; of course it made sense. But that was truly the first time he worried, and he couldn’t explain why.

\---

The Haus was still mostly empty at the time, anyway. A quick survey revealed that it was only Ransom and Holster who were already back. They claimed it was their captainly duty, and even though Bitty had always gotten along with them really well, he irrationally felt like he was interrupting some kinds of plans.

Later, though, Holster took him aside and said that Ransom had come back for a date that he insisted wasn’t a date, and Holster just came back to keep him company because he was bored at home. Bitty laughed and called him ridiculous.

“It’s good that you’re here too,” Holster promised. “And not just because I need someone to watch all these new Netflix shows with me.”

Bitty raised his eyebrows.

“Not _only_ because I need someone to watch all these new Netflix shows with me,” he amended.

“Better,” Bitty conceded. “But we only have a week.”

“I hope you’re not underestimating my dedication to binge-watching,” Holster warned.

“I hope you’re not underestimating my dedication to baking!” Bitty retaliated, unable to help the grin on his face.

“It’s just the three of us here; if you bake all the time we’ll get huge by the end of the week. And not in the good way.”

There was something really flattering about the idea that not finishing something he’s baked isn’t even an option in Holster’s mind. But Bitty just poked him in the abs and asked, “really?” when he was met with hard muscle.

“I said ‘by the end of the week’,” Holster reminded him, but he had gone a bit pink.

“We could practice to work it off,” Bitty suggested.

Holster looked around dramatically. “When did Jack get here?”

“Ha, ha.”

“Thanks,” Holster said, “I’m hilarious.”

“I was kidding, anyway,” Bitty explained. He thought it was kind of unnecessary. Sure this year he had gotten pretty good at hockey, but he hadn’t gone full hockey robot yet, even after all the time spent talking to Jack.

“I thought you were just starting your campaign for being the captain next year.”

“And you’re really trying to be a comedian, aren’t you?”

Holster shrugged. “Weren’t you a captain before?”

Bitty did a double-take. “You remember that? Besides, I think the team is more serious at Samwell. And maybe not everyone will look up to me as much as Jack, or you and Ransom?”

“You’re a good player and you get along with everyone,” Holster argued, which Bitty had to say wasn’t completely off-base.

“I’m just worried I’m too . . . soft?”

“You don’t mean gay, do you?” Holster asked quietly, sitting up to lean closer. “I’m pretty sure you know sexual orientation has nothing to do with it, considering me and Jack.”

“Not in the liking boys sense!” Bitty exclaimed. Which, yes, was kind of the whole definition. “Just in the obvious-stereotype way.” He paused. “Wait, you?”

Holster winked. “Caught that, did you?”

“I didn’t mean--you don’t have to tell me anything,” Bitty stammered out. He knew more than anybody that there was no benefit to rushing people or making them uncomfortable.

“I usually tell people I’m bi,” Holster started explaining, like Bitty hadn’t even spoken. “But I think you’ll be able to understand if I say I just . . . don’t discriminate? So to speak.”

That made Bitty smile indulgently. “Yeah, of course. Not tied to a label?”

“I mean, the history of bisexuality and biphobia can’t really be discussed without a label and I’m not trying to distance myself from that, but it also doesn’t _feel_ quite right. You know?”

Guiltily, Bitty thought of Jack, who had never really specified an official label for his preferences, but who was obviously not straight and yet seemingly had no problems with women, either. He didn’t say anything like that, though he did wonder what the boys on the team thought of Jack before Bitty even knew him.

He shook his head to clear his mind.

“Yeah,” he answered, knowing it was awkwardly late. “I know what you mean.”

“So,” Holster started, after a moment, “what are you baking first?”

Bitty was only too happy to start describing the improved crust techniques he’d learned back at home, and how a simple recipe would probably be best to start, but if it worked well he’d want to have a little fun--Holster interrupted to say that he’d go grocery shopping with Bitty, as long as they left now so they got back in time to watch four episodes.

They watched nine.

\---

Getting back into the swing of classes took up all of Bitty’s energy, and it was February before he knew it. Bitty tried really, really hard not to feel like Jack was some kind of sugar daddy, but it didn’t help that he was flying Bitty out to Chicago just to seem him on Valentine’s day, despite both their better judgement, despite Bitty’s classes and the fact that Jack would be gone most of the time.

Bitty was rushing out the door as usual, but he wasn’t actually late, just cutting it a tiny bit close. He was running to the bus and reorganizing his overstuffed bag on the ride there, completely neglecting his phone for possibly the first time since . . . well, since the last time he and Jack were in Providence.

Getting into the airport wasn’t bad either; the line was pretty much what he was used to, meaning he’d left himself enough time to get through security.

It was when he was at the gate that the problem arose. He took out his phone to text Jack only to realize he’d used up all the battery on Twitter in line. When he finally sat down at a seat next to an outlet, he searched his entire bag for his phone charger, and it wasn’t there. He’d told Jack what time to wait, and the flight was only a few hours, so that would be fine. Until he noticed that the flight was delayed. He looked around, but there weren’t that many people at the gate. He still asked a woman near him if she had an iPhone charger, and she apologized, displaying the phone in her hand was indeed an Android phone.

That led to him awkwardly staring at people’s phones before he asked them, which in retrospect might have been the reason that so many of them claimed that they didn’t have them in their carry-on baggage, or that they were using it. He could have tried a less creepy approach, he thought, as he listened to the ninth announcement that the flight would be boarding on only fifteen minutes.

They didn’t commit to canceling it until three hours had passed.

Bitty was fighting back tears when he finally called Jack back at the house, having rushed through the crowd gathered around the living room without a word. He explained himself, poorly at first, until Jack understood.

“I’m so sorry,” he choked out.

“It’s not your fault,” Jack whispered back. Bitty took a deep, steadying breath.

And then Jack said, “we can’t do this anymore.”

\---

Bitty was sure that he offered some kind of response to Jack’s words. He knew he fought, but can’t remember how, only remembers pain and tears. He remembered the horrible suggestion that their lives might not work together, that they might be better off apart, that it might be for the best. Nothing about lack of love, he noticed.

The only break in that all-encompassing feeling of hopelessness was the sharp sound of someone knocking on the door, pushing it open gently after not getting a response. He looked up from the floor in front of his desk, where he must have sunk at some point without noticing. Then he looked up a little more and his eyes meet Holster’s.

“Um,” Holster started, uncharacteristically awkward in Bitty’s presence. “Jack called me.”

“Mm,” Bitty acknowledged. He’d been going for, “I see,” but the fact that he’d made some kind of affirmative noise felt like enough of a success.

Holster crossed the room and sat next to Bitty. Bitty didn’t always initiate physical contact, in general, but he knew that Holster didn’t mind, which is why he only felt half awkward as he leaned over to the side until he was resting against Holster’s shoulder, being moved slightly when Holster decided to fully put his arm around Bitty and cause him to lean more into his chest and neck.

He stayed there for a long time until they had both relaxed into the contact, a little bit unusual for them, but not unheard of.

“Thanks,” Bitty whispered. He stood up to get into his bed, and Holster stood up and stretched. He hesitated, like he didn’t know if he should leave, and Bitty realized he must seem pretty terrible. “I’m going to fall asleep,” he promised Holster. Bitty felt better just knowing someone had been there for him--even knowing that Jack had been, in his way. But he needed space.

They looked at each other for a moment, and then Holster rushed forward and hugged Bitty again. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.

Bitty couldn’t cry anymore; he just waited until he finally fell asleep.

Waking up was a sluggish and slow process, and Bitty stayed in bed until his door was opened and a fresh latte was placed next to him. Of course it was Holster, standing there with his own coffee and looking down at Bitty.

“I wasn’t going to wake you if you were still sleeping,” he said.

Bitty forced himself to sit up and take a sip of the coffee, if only to make the gesture seem more worthwhile. The good taste still registered, at least. There must have been extra syrup in it.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, belatedly. For everything, he meant.

Holster just nodded. “What do you want to do?” Bitty heard his unspoken question, _what else can I do_. It almost hurt to have someone be so nice to him.

“Go to class, I guess. And practice.” Bitty took a breath, set his drink down on the nightstand, and tried to force himself to swing his feet over the side of the bed. He got them a few inches to the side before he gave up.

“Bits, you can skip both of those things if you want to,” Holster pointed out. “I probably shouldn’t say that as your captain, but nobody ever said I was a good captain.”

“You’re a great captain,” Bitty corrected automatically, in his no-nonsense voice.

Holster grinned enough that Bitty felt his own mouth twitch, trying to imitate it without conscious thought. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” he insisted, even though his eyes were bright. “At least skip class,” he added.

Bitty would have laughed if he could. “I think those priorities are a little out of order. I’m already a bad enough student, anyway. I can’t skip class on top of that.”

“Fine, skip practice,” Holster acquiesced, sighing dramatically and collapsing onto his back on Bitty’s bed, landing on his feet. He didn’t fit at all sideways, barely able to maneuver the top half of his body into place.

Bitty grunted at the weight. “I’m not skipping anything! I’m just having a little trouble with the part where I leave this bed.”

“Oh, I can help you with that part,” Holster promised, standing back up quickly.

“Wait, no,” Bitty protested, knowing exactly where this was going. Holster ignored him, though, yanking back the covers with the team’s typical lack of respect for privacy and jostling Señor Bun in the process. Then, of course, he grabbed Bitty, somehow managed to get him neatly over his shoulder, and deposited him neatly on his feet in the bathroom. Bitty swayed, off-balance, and grabbed onto the counter for support. “Thanks, I guess,” he grumbled.

“No problem,” Holster replied, voice booming and echoing. Then, as if realizing, he lowered his voice. “I didn’t tell anybody, just so you know. But I can if you want me to, if you don’t want to do it yourself. Or not at all.”

He couldn’t take anymore, and he closed the door. Once he was alone, Bitty managed to get himself ready to face the day, and then spent five minutes sitting on the closed toilet with his head in his hands. He collected himself quickly, though, and exited the room. Holster was still waiting in his bedroom, even though Bitty knew he had been rude.

“Sorry, um, I don’t know what I want. I just don’t want y’all feeling sorry for me.” It’s probably the most honest thing Bitty’s said to the team about something so personal to him; he wasn’t the type to dump his problems on other people. Even with Jack by his side, he was always strong enough to bear his own issues on his own--knowing that he had a partner helped steel his resolve, but his personal strength had been built up long before that.

He had never needed to test the fact that his teammates had his back; he just believed it after his first two years.

So he wasn’t surprised to walk out of the bathroom to see Holster still there, not mad at him, not offended, just understanding.

“You can tell them if they ask you,” he answered the earlier thoughts. “And I’ll tell them if they ask you. We’re not keeping secrets, OK?”

“Sure, Bits,” Holster agreed easily. He looked away when Bitty started changing, and it was only then that Bitty remembered he used to be much more self-conscious. Hockey here really had changed him.

He tried dressing to impress, on the assumption that you feel good when you look good.

“Damn,” Holster said appreciatively, and Bitty laughed.

“Very funny, Mr. Birkholtz,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

Holster’s expression didn’t change. “Do you want me to walk you to class?”

“Don’t you have class at the same time?”

“I can be late.”

“Or I can be early,” Bitty argued.

“Sure, or that.” Holster grabbed Bitty’s backpack and Bitty dropped his textbook into it--Hoster didn’t flinch at the haphazardly added weight, of course. He held his hand out for it, and Holster just slung it over his own shoulder as he ran up to the attic to quickly grab his own stuff, returning before Bitty had time to check that he had his wallet and ID. He grabbed them, and fell into stride with Holster.

They got into the kitchen, full of people, of course.

“Hey Holzy, Bits, have a good Valentine’s Day?” Ransom asked immediately.

Bitty looked at Holster, who was already looking at him. “Tell him,” he suggested. “I’ll wait outside.”

It wasn’t long before Holster had joined Bitty on the porch. Bitty had heard Ransom’s exclamation of, “What? The next time I see him…” but he didn’t bring it up. Holster didn’t either.

Bitty’s classroom was empty when they got there, of course. Holster stayed with him until his class was actually about to start, making it useless that Bitty had tried to help him be on time. Bitty reminded him of this, but he played dumb.

\---

After practice, Bitty unsurprisingly found himself baking. Embarrassingly, it was a maple sugar crusted apple pie. Well, at least he was still doing something.

The frogs all came in at the same time, and Bitty spared a moment to feel glad that they all still hung out together most of the time. Chowder immediately hugged him when he saw him, so the news had apparently spread without his own intervention. Dex looked like he was about to do the same, and Nursey patted Bitty on the back as he walked past.

They all sat down eventually, content to watch Bitty bake, and Dex stood back up after about a minute. It was cute that he felt too guilty not helping, but Bitty knew better than to point that out.

It went a lot faster with Dex helping; he was already getting good enough to barely need any direction unless he was in a bad mood (which usually happened when Nursey was around, but was strangely absent at this moment.)

Everyone did their homework in the kitchen, too, Chowder helping Dex with something and making Bitty beam with pride and bite back a comment about his smart son.

This was what he had always needed, what he had been fighting for every time he held his true self back in Madison, every time he kept quiet when he wanted to yell. Every second of this made up for an hour of the darkest parts of his past. Bitty had always been strong, had always pushed forward, and would probably have made it through this breakup even as his pre-Samwell self, but there was no denying the strength and comfort he drew from his teammates.

He must have spent too long looking at them fondly, because when he came back to awareness there were three sets of eyes on him, though they quickly returned to their respective computers.

So, they probably knew.

“I’m fine, guys,” he insisted, as the oven timer to remove the foil went off. Had he really zoned out for that long?

“Sure,” Nursey said.

Dex jumped up to get the foil for Bitty, again without needing to be prompted. He bumped into Nursey on the way, met his eyes, and both of them immediately looked away.

Chowder half stood up, too. “But if you need anything . . .” he started, but trailed off.

Bitty smiled. “I know.”

\---

Somehow, Holster walked him to all of his classes for a whole week before Bitty made him stop and focus on his own classes again. He felt the loss pretty strongly the first day, though. The whole team knew, but Holster had stepped up more than anybody else. Bitty didn’t want to ask why, didn’t want to draw attention to it.

“I have another show I want to watch,” Holster yelled out the door of the Haus when Bitty left. That might have seemed like a useless statement, but Bitty was now there almost any time Holster wanted to watch something, even if other people also joined in, as they often did. He still stayed away when people wanted to watch football, and then tried really hard not to comment the whole time, since he could hear them from the kitchen.

Bitty spent a lot of time with the frogs, too, and Holster and Ransom still went off together (often they invited Bitty, but he liked to give them their D-man bonding time) whenever Ransom wasn’t too busy. It was nice how things were settling in.

It had taken a while, and some prompting from Shitty, but Jack was back to participating in the group chat, too. After the first week, it hurt less to see his name. They still watched all of his games, and Bitty liked to tell himself that Jack was more aggressive, taking more risks than usual.

Deep down, he wanted to imagine Jack was happy with his decision, doing well. He was genuinely disappointed when the Falconers didn’t make it to the final, when he had to listen to sports commenters say that even with Zimmermann the Falconers still couldn’t pull it together.

They were friends first and they’d be friends again. Bitty just knew it.

It was nice, in a sad way, how much Bitty really enjoyed the return to spending time with his teammates. He was still upset about Jack, but it did make him realize that he wasn’t paying as much attention to some of the other parts of his life.

He was still upset _with_ Jack, too, for not trusting that he and Bitty were on the path to making it work, that college and the NHL and a long distance relationship just needed practice. It hurt to think about, that somehow it might not have been important enough to keep trying despite the obstacles. But there were benefits all the same.

Also,  it made him feel guilty that he’d gotten caught up in romance and paid less attention to friendship, something else that was better for him than ever before. The fact that the only thing he hadn’t neglected was hockey was definitely Jack’s fault.

\---

Of course, “we haven’t had one since St. Patrick’s day” was an excellent day to through a kegster, according to Ransom and Holster. Bitty just sighed and began to try to hide the more important items further in the back of the kitchen, and set a reminder on his phone to lock his door. It might be nice to dance and unwind, anyway, and Bitty had left the Haus to hang out with Dex, Nursey, and Chowder during the last one, anyway. Ransom and Holster hadn’t even protested too much.

But this time he was feeling it, or at least not _not_ feeling it. Then the group chat buzzed with a message saying that Shitty was coming to visit, and Bitty was suddenly much more in the party spirit. Shitty had probably been talking to Jack a lot, which stung, but Bitty still missed him. Maybe not as much as Lardo had, judging by her expression.

Dex was partially hidden from view, but his ears perked up at the information, too.

The party started late, and first it was just the SMH team and the people whom they’d directly and specifically invited, actual friends and dates. A lot of women from the volleyball team, of course, with Chowder and Farmer already cute and flirty and warming Bitty’s heart. Some of Lardo’s art friends had even shown up.

Shitty arrived while the party was still in small-gathering mode, hugging Lardo first and then Bitty. It was almost like he brought the party with him, because it suddenly became packed and Bitty lost track of him for an hour. It was OK; he just finished his drink, grabbed another, and made his way to the dancefloor.

He ended up dancing by a girl from one of his classes, who was friendly but knew him well enough to know that as they started moving together, facing each other, they were just doing this as friends. One move swung him close enough that he slightly knocked into Farmer.

“Thanks, but I’m taken,” she joked, and Bitty laughed, remembering how Chowder and Farmer had met. He looked around for Dex and Nursey and Ransom and Holster, as he thought about the incident and its witnesses. Dex and Nursey were right by Chowder, though they hadn’t been paying attention to the exchange, and Ransom and Holster were nowhere to be found.

Bitty spun around to go look for them, figuring they’d be in full-on host mode, but he caught a glimpse of Shitty and Lardo and he walked over.

“Hey, Bits!” Shitty exclaimed, ruffling his hair.

“We can keep talking later tonight,” Lardo said to Shitty, and walked away, being completely unsubtle.

“Wanna go upstairs?” Shitty asked, after a beat.

Bitty sighed. “Yeah, sure,” he agreed, and walked to his own room with Shitty trailing after him, snagging two extra drinks on his way up.

They got in and Bitty closed and locked the door behind them. Shitty winked; Bitty rolled his eyes fondly.

If he was expecting Shitty to lead the conversation, Bitty would have been sorely disappointed. Luckily for Bitty (and, from what he understood, awkwardly for Shitty) people tended to feel comfortable divulging information to Shitty without much prompting from him. Bitty had never built up much of an immunity to that.

“I take it you’ve talked to Jack?” Bitty asked, and Shitty nodded. “Did y’all hang out in person?”

“He always said he was too busy,” Shitty replied. “I mean, I figured he was lying.”

“I don’t know,” Bitty grumbled, “He was too busy for a lot of things.”

Shitty’s eyes visibly widened at that, but his face relaxed to a neutral expression quickly. “I’m sorry he hurt you. I wanted to stop talking to him, but--he’s my friend, my best friend. I’m sorry my best friend hurt you.” His voice sounded pained.

Bitty tried to dismiss him by shaking his head. “He’s my friend, too. Even still, even if we only talk to each other in the group chat now. He’s still my friend.”

That made Shitty smile. “And you’re doing all right?” he prompted.

“Having everyone around helps,” Bitty said, which was extremely true. “We’ve been having fun. Do you think--what if Jack was right?”

“Brah,” Shitty yelled a little bit, then sipped his beer. “There’s no way for you to know what would have happened if you stayed together, if it’d be better or worse than what you’re both doing now. Whatever that is,” he added, when Bitty looked like he might be about to ask after Jack. “Just enjoy the present and look to the future. Talk to Jack when you want to, and feel safe ignoring him if you need to. You can tell me and I’ll make him leave you alone. Just trust me. Nobody knows if it’s right or wrong, but this is what you guys decided to do.”

Bitty was tearing up by the time he got to the end.

“I don’t know what the future is. I don’t even know what the present is, really,” he confessed, and Lord, it was good to have Shitty back for these types of conversations.

“Sure you do. It’s just college,” Shitty said gently. “I know there’s a lot going on, but you can still enjoy that, right?”

Maybe Bitty had too much to drink, but that seemed pretty reasonable. He picked up his drink and took a few good swallows.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Shitty exclaimed. “Want to go downstairs and dance?”

It turned out Shitty had meant they should dance together, which was hilarious and uncoordinated and ridiculous. Bitty lost his drink almost immediately but couldn’t bring himself to care at all. He didn’t even think twice at the hands that would rest on his shoulders every once in a while.

Then, suddenly he was looking up even further, and Holster was asking, “mind if I cut in?”

Shitty laughed and disappeared into the dance floor quickly, from Bitty’s slightly inebriated perspective.

“Having fun?” Holster asked, apparently still aware enough to be in host mode. Bitty nodded, and Holster handed him another drink. Bitty was drunk, but not dangerously so, and he accepted it and took a sip. Tub juice.

“Good batch this time,” he commented, though it was still pretty jarring.

“Shitty helped,” Holster explained. “But Ransom’s gotten pretty good at it, anyway.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

Holster snorted. “He’s in his room already. Not alone, if you catch my drift.”

“Lucky him?”

Holster really seemed to be considering before he answered. “I guess,” he finally agreed.

“I,” Bitty started, before he had no idea where he was taking his sentence. “I want to go outside.”

“That can be arranged.”

Once they were outside, as usual, Bitty’s ears started to ring from the absence of music blaring straight into them. There were a few people milling around, though it was a little chilly, and Bitty wasn’t used to it. He shivered.

Holster looked at his own bare arms, no sweatshirt to offer. He just leaned against the railing, a little closer to Bitty, as if he could give off enough heat. It sort of worked.

“The party got kind of lame when Rans left,” Holster said. “Did we invite a bunch of idiots?”

“Maybe you invited good people and the idiots just followed,” Bitty suggested diplomatically.

“That’s nice of you to say, Bits.”

Bitty hummed. Being outside really made the drunkenness feel stronger. He put his drink down on the ground, despite knowing it would likely spill.

“Are you doing OK?” Holster asked.

“I’m not _that_ drunk,” Bitty protested, barely slurring.

Holster smiled indulgently. “I meant like . . . in general.”

“Oh. Better. Thanks to you. Guys. Thanks to all of you.” He was impressed with himself, both for that save and for having not said “y’all” despite being drunk. “And a little because of you specifically,” he whispered, negating his efforts. He leaned further into Holster, and Holster made room for him.

“We should go get some water,” Holster suggested, after a few minutes. Bitty was pretty cold anyway, so that sounded like a good idea. The party was actually wrapping up anyway, and Holster insisted on depositing Bitty into his bedroom, and telling him to worry about everything else in the morning. After all the cold, the alcohol, the dancing and the emotionally exhausting conversations, Bitty was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

\---

The next morning, Bitty woke up earlier than he did on a normal day, and couldn’t fall back asleep. He made his way to the kitchen, obviously.

Someone was at the table already, and he could tell right away that it was Lardo. He was pretty glad hers was the first face he was seeing, so he sat in the seat across from her.

“Larissa,” he greeted.

Her eyes widened for a second in shock, but the look was quickly replaced with a smile. “Bitty.”

“How are things?” Bitty asked. He was being intentionally vague, didn’t want to overstep.

“Good. With you?” she asked.

“Good.”

They both waited like they were participating in some kind of stand-off.

“Things are pretty good between me and Shitty lately,” Lardo offered, breaking the silence.

Bitty supposed he could return the favor. “He made me feel less terrible about Jack last night.”

“I figured that’s what you guys were talking about.”

“I haven’t fully accepted this, but maybe it was the right choice? As much as I’ve hated being without him.”

“You’re not really without him, are you?” Lardo prompted.

Bitty sat up straighter, leaning onto the table and getting closer in the process. “No, you’re right. The other day he finally texted just me, instead of the group chat, because of something his mom said about a cake recipe.”

“And you . . . like being just friends with him?”

“I really do,” Bitty admitted. At least while they had such different lives, it had been making Bitty feel a little better. “I’m not going to complain about being his friend. It’s still amazing, and maybe we’ll even go back to where we were.”

Lardo considered this, frowning in concentration. She hesitated. “What about in the future?” she asked, like she knew that Bitty had been avoiding thinking about that.

“I don’t . . . know if I’d want to try again,” he realized aloud. “It’s not like I’m holding a grudge, but--who says our lives will ever line up like Jack wants them to? He’s amazing, and I love him, and I’d wait for him if I knew we’d be together one day, but he can’t promise me that.”

“And you might have someone to move on with?” Lardo added.

Bitty laughed, though still a little sadly after the previous topic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“OK,” she said doubtfully.

Then Holster walked in and memories of the previous night washed over Bitty in a wave of affection. He jumped up to hug him; Holster returned the favor and lifted him off the ground a little. Then he pulled back and held his arms out at Lardo, too. She rolled her eyes, but stood up anyway.

\---

Graduation came much too soon. Bitty wasn’t at all ready to let go of Ranson, Holster, and Lardo. Dex seemed to be holding up worse, if that was possible, flanked on either side by Chowder and Nursey, closer than Dex usually was to anybody.

Jack showed up before the actual ceremony, and Bitty joined in when everyone crowded him for a ridiculously oversized hug, though he’d seen Jack and Holster talking alone before everyone noticed him.

Ransom and Holster tag-team tackle-hugged Bitty after they talked to their families for a while, and he teared up. Then Holster hugged him again, lifting him off the ground a little. When they stepped aside to talk alone, Lardo hugged him and the tears spilled over. He pulled back quickly, not wanting to cry on her gown or whatever she’d decided to wear under it. Bitty looked at her and words failed him.

“Take care of the team, OK?” she asked, looking pretty emotional herself. “You were _unanimously_ elected captain,” she reminded him. “And you’re a senior now. I know you can do it.”

Bitty shook his head, even though he knew he could probably do it. There was no way he’d be Jack, or the perfect combination of Ransom and Holster who, as Bitty looked over Lardo’s shoulder, were talking to Dex and Nursey, leaning in and looking serious. Chowder was standing back from them, his arm around Farmer’s shoulders--she must have come over after talking to her graduating friends from the volleyball team.

“You can,” she assured him.

“If you say so it must be true,” Bitty managed to say around the lump in his throat.

“Exactly. I have to go talk to my family,” she excused herself. “Stay in touch. I mean it.”

They hugged again before she left.

Bitty saw Jack standing alone, and gathered enough courage to go over there. “They’re really happy you came,” he told him. “Even Holster.”

“Thanks,” Jack answered, like he might have even believed him. Jack looked like he wanted to leave, and Bitty walked him to his car.

Everyone made their way back to the Haus on their own time, many people having celebratory dinners with their families first. Nobody was leaving that night anyway, though there was some packing going on around Bitty by the time he returned with the frogs.

He went to his room and dropped himself onto his bed, closing his eyes to shut the world out.

It didn’t stop him from hearing the knock on his door, or Holster’s voice saying, “It’s me.”

Bitty opened the door and Holster came in without asking, closing the door behind himself.

“Ransom and I thought about leaving tonight while everyone was gone, but you’d probably be mad at us if we did, huh?”

“Are you kidding me? Dex would have a fit!” was the first thing Bitty thought to say. Then he paused, embarrassed.

“Just Dex?”

“Maybe Chowder, too. I, on the other hand, can’t wait to see the back of you,” Bitty joked, knowing it was too obviously untrue.

Holster immediately turned around. “How’s it look?”

Bitty sighed. “Tall.”

“Not that different from the front, then,” Holster said, turning back around to face Bitty. They both sat on the bed by unspoken agreement.

“I’ll visit a lot next year,” Holster promised. Bitty believed him, especially with the frequency with which he had seen Shitty and even Jack at the Haus this past year.

“Thanks for everything,” Bitty said, meaning today, meaning after Jack, meaning before that, meaning every Real Housewives episode, every piggyback, every shared blond joke.

“Thank _you_ ,” Holster replied, and Bitty was about to ask, for what, when he saw the sincerity in his eyes. He nodded, instead.

Holster stood up and waited for Bitty to join him. When they were both standing, he hugged Bitty much more softly than usual, leaned in to whisper, “Don’t oversleep; we’re leaving in the morning.” Bitty could only watch him leave after that.

As if sleeping too much was his worry that night.

\---

Bitty must have fallen asleep at some point, because he woke up with a start, looking over at the clock and feeling incredibly relieved that it wasn’t much past 8. He got ready quickly, and came downstairs to a kitchen with only one tall, blond occupant.

“Ready for the professional life?” Bitty asked, amused to see Holster jerk a little in surprise.

“No, but I’m glad I’ll be able to keep living with Ransom,” he answered. They had somehow contrived a plan where Holster had an excellent job and Ransom had a great school, and their apartment was in between them, a short drive to either one. Well, if anyone deserved it . . .

“What would he do without you?” Bitty agreed.

Holster leaned in, making Bitty mirror his movements. “What would I do without him?”

Bitty put his hand over his heart. He knew what kind of expression he must have had, tried to hold it back because it usually offended people, especially large hockey players, when you looked at them like they were the most precious thing you’ve seen all day.

But Holster had a hint of a smile on his face.

“Who’s leaving first this morning?” Bitty asked.

“We are,” Ransom answered, over his shoulder. It was Bitty’s turn to jump. How much of that conversation had he heard?

Holster didn’t seem as worried, standing up and shaking a set of car keys. “All packed,” he told Ransom.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Ransom answered.

“I couldn’t sleep anymore anyway. Hey, weren’t Dex and Nursey going to stop by? And why isn’t anybody else awake?”

“I’ll get Chowder,” Bitty offered, mostly because he was afraid to have anybody else wake him up. He was going to mention Lardo, too, but she came down the stairs right at that moment.

“You guys didn’t plan to leave without saying goodbye, did you?” Lardo asked.

Ransom scratched the back of his neck. “Of course not. Oh look, it’s Dex and Nursey! Great timing, guys.”

Bitty brought Chowder back down. The tadpoles--new frogs--freshmen--sophomores--Bitty had no idea what to call them, but they hadn’t planned to come.

Dex strode by quickly to hug Lardo, and ask her something quietly which was almost certainly about how sure she was about their new manager. He stepped back when he saw Nursey talking to Ransom and Holster, and Lardo turned to Bitty at that moment.

“I mean it. Text me, call me, any time and all the time,” she insisted. “This isn’t really a goodbye.”

“OK,” Bitty said, too dejected to believe it. They hugged again and Bitty wondered how long she’d stay there, so he tested it. But all good things must come to an end.

Everyone left after another round of hugs, and then it was just Bitty and the frogs sitting around the kitchen table.

“We have to move out of our dorms by noon,” Dex reminded Nursey, while making no moves to stand up and act on that.

“I guess it makes sense for me to leave for the airport,” Chowder added.

“My parents will be here soon,” Bitty said.

Nobody left.

Then they heard a casual, “I forgot something,” coming from outside, and the door to the Haus opened again and Holster ran in. He walked straight into the kitchen, put his hands on Bitty’s face, and kissed him, full and deep. Bitty paused for a second in shock, but was drawn in automatically.

After Holster pulled away, he looked at Bitty for a moment. “I’ll call you tonight, OK?” He was gone before Bitty could answer.

The door slammed shut, and Bitty looked at the three nearly identical expressions of shock staring back at him.

“Please pretend you didn’t see that,” Bitty whined, and dropped his head into his arms on the table.

Graduations were the worst.

\---

Holster cleared it with Bitty, and then flew down to Georgia for a weekend, citing the need to talk in person.

“I’m sorry,” he said when they saw each other at the airport. Bitty had driven there, even though it made him nervous. “I know you’re still on the rebound, or not over Jack, and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of that, or the time we spent hanging out because of it. And I’m sorry I got so mad at him. It’s just, he hurt you, you know?”

“Holster,” Bitty stopped him. “It was nice.”

“Oh.”

“Jack and I are friends now,” he added.

“That’s nice,” Holster said.

“It is.”

Holster looked at Bitty, about to pull out of their parking spot in the temporary lot. “Does that mean I can kiss you again?”

Bitty took his hand off the gear shift.

“It means I hope you do,” he answered.

It was better when they were alone, Bitty noticed immediately. Also when they both knew it was going to happen from the start. Holster kissed him softly, matching their mood, not rushing anything.

“Hey Bits,” Holster whispered, pulling back, “Will you go out with me?”

Bitty laughed. “Kiss me again and I’ll think about it.”

It was hard for them, being so new and having to fake it around Bitty’s family and old acquaintances, but they made it exciting, like a game. The stakes were maybe a bit too high, so they didn’t end up risking much. It was still fun, eating the best home cooked meals, trying to at least partially run them off every morning, Holster jokingly using Bitty as a weight to bench press. Bitty had gained some muscle, but not enough to even phase Holster, who still tended to like to have an excuse to carry Bitty on his back or on his shoulders.

It was hard for them when Holster had to go back to work, when Bitty had a day where he talked to Jack more than he talked to Holster, when Bitty went back to school and he was the one in charge.

But they worked hard, and Holster’s steady job and Bitty’s class schedule made plans easier to keep, and it just worked. They saw each other once a month, though Bitty complained how much it must be costing Holster. The job was good, but it wasn’t an NHL salary.

Holster excused it by pointing out it was just temporary, and that Bitty could-- _if he wanted to_ \--move in with him at any point, especially since Ransom was all set to move out. It turned out Holster had already been paying the full amount on his own to help his friend which, again, touched Bitty’s heart. He wouldn’t be going to school like Ransom, though, so he’d definitely find a job. Baking, or maybe just better monetizing his online presence. Holster pointed out he could help with that, though it always made Bitty panic to imagine people he knew seeing his vlogs or his tweets.

But all the plans, all the looking toward the future, working together to make their lives match, it was exactly what Bitty wanted. If you’d told him his freshman year that he’d find that with Holster he would have never believed it.

And yet, a year found him in bed with Holster--in a bed that was actually big enough for all of Holster--glancing over and getting another small thrill at the man in glasses reading over some papers before bed. Holster caught his gaze and put the papers straight away, turning and launching himself at the other side of the bed. He landed so that his hands and knees were bracketing Bitty’s body, though Bitty wouldn’t have minded if he’d dropped all his weight down. He had lost a little bit of muscle but stayed in great shape, and it felt amazing to be pressed against him everywhere.

This was his life now, and he wanted to keep it forever.

**Author's Note:**

> When I wrote the previous fic I kept sprinkling in Bitty/Holster hints, and two people noticed, so I wrote them this fic. And added in NurseyDex hints because I’m trash and they’re my favorite. Plus, this has been a good exercise for me, writing one story and then trying to match another one to it.
> 
> I tried and failed to capture Holster in this.
> 
> A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW BITTY COULD NEVER BE CAPTAIN. I SAW THAT AND WAS HORRIFIED. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I DISAGREE.
> 
> Please comment anything! Especially criticism; go nuts. I'd love to hear from you.
> 
> Find me on tumblr as [loveandallthat](http://loveandallthat.tumblr.com/)! I take prompts for tons of fandoms and pairings.


End file.
